Lunar eclipse offers spectacular show

LONDON, England -- Europeans have had front row seats for a three-hour show billed as the most colourful lunar eclipse for a decade.

Beginning at around 1840 GMT on Tuesday evening, the earth's shadow slowly moved over the surface of the moon until finally eclipsing it at about 1950 GMT.

Totality -- when the moon is completely covered by the earth's shadow -- saw the moon turn orange as the light from the sun was bent and filtered by the earth's atmosphere.

Astronomers said the eclipse was particularly spectacular because it is almost a decade since the last big volcanic eruption -- that of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991.

The debris thrown up by volcanic eruptions reduces the amount of light transmitted from the sun to the moon during a lunar eclipse.

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Tuesday's show was visible from all parts of Europe, as well as Africa and Asia. The only restricting factor for some was the weather, with some areas covered by cloud.

The moon "turning to blood" was once seen as a sign that disaster would strike or that the gods were angry.

In Iran tens of thousands braved freezing weather and gathered on rooftops in the capital Tehran as state radio and television called on Iranians to perform the ayat prayers, a Muslim ritual designed to marvel at the powers of God.

The eclipse also was visible in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Yemen and most of the Gulf region.

In Iraq, the eclipse lasted about 45 minutes, but a cold winter night meant that not many people were out on the streets of Baghdad to watch it. The imams of the capital's mosques shouted calls exhorting Muslims to offer a special prayer for the occasion.

Lunar eclipses are associated in Iraq with a popular children story of a moon that is "eaten by the great big whale."

Past eclipses saw tens of thousands of children come out on the streets to sing the story and beg the "whale" to give the moon back, but only scores kept the tradition alive on Tuesday night.

In Jordan, 50 members of the Jordanian astronomical society gathered at a public park in the heart of the Jordanian capital Amman to watch the lunar eclipse, which peaked at 10.20 p.m. (2020 GMT). A copper coloured moon shone in clear skies over Amman.

In neighbouring Syria, hundreds of people, many with their cameras, drove up to the Qassioun mountain on the edge of the capital Damascus to watch the eclipse.

The early phases of the eclipse, seen from Scotland

In Yemen nightclubs and bars in the port city of Aden closed their doors temporarily in a show of respect for the eclipse.

Mosques stayed open late as Muslim worshippers gathered to offer a special prayer marking the occasion.

In Muscat thousands camped out on beaches or took to rooftops to watch the eclipse, which began around 10.42 p.m. (1842 GMT).

In the Gulf nation of Qatar, authorities exhorted residents to head to mosques to offer prayers and read from the Quran, Islam's holy book.

Clear skies in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, meant that the eclipse was visible throughout, but the phenomenon appeared to attract little attention as life went on normally in central Cairo with few signs of interest.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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ROG: Solar Eclipses
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